This collection is for any short story in the English Language in the public domain, preferably less than 60 minutes. You are welcome to contribute as many as you wish, and there is no need to "sign-up" before recording as long as the work is clearly in the public domain.

Please ask here if the story was published after 1923 or if you are unsure for any other reason about its public domain status. Note that translations attract their own new copyright and must also have been published before 1923.

Multiple versions are always welcome, so you can record a story that has been recorded before. (If the same stories are submitted twice in the same collection, we will carry the second version over to the next collection) .

You may prefer to submit your recording to one of the other more specialized short story collections. ( Lynne Thompson)

There is no need to pre-claim
New to recording? Please read our Newbie Guide to Recording!

You may select any Public Domain text. If you are uncertain as to copyright status, please ask.

Please don't download or listen to files belonging to projects in process (unless you are the BC or PL). Our servers are not set up to handle the greater volume of traffic. Please wait until the project has been completed. Thanks!

Please don't download or listen to files belonging to projects in process (unless you are the BC or PL). Our servers are not set up to handle the greater volume of traffic. Please wait until the project has been completed. Thanks!

DURING recording:No more than 0.5 to 1 second of silence at the beginning of the recording!Make sure you add this to the beginning of your recording:
START of recording (Intro)
"Title of Work], by [Author Name]. - This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information, or to volunteer, please visit: librivox DOT org"
If you wish, say: "Recording by [your name], [city, your blog, podcast, web address]" . Title of work.

END of recording

"At the end of the section, say:
"End of [Title], by [Author Name]"
If you wish, say:
"Recording by [your name], [city, your blog, podcast, web address]"
Please leave about 5 seconds of silence at the end of your recording. Please remember to check this thread frequently for updates!

AFTER recordingNeed noise-cleaning?
Listen to your file through headphones. If you can hear some constant background noise (hiss/buzz), you may want to clean it up a bit. The latest version of Audacity is recommended for noise-cleaning. See this LibriVox wiki page for a complete guide. Save files as
128 kbps MP3
ss082_shorttitleinoneword_readersinitials_128kb.mp3 (all lower-case) (e.g. ss082_greatstory_lt_128kb.mp3)

Transfer of files (completed recordings) Please always post in this forum thread when you've sent a file. Also, post the length of the recording (file duration: mm:ss) together with the link.

Please post in this thread:
The link from the uploader.
Name of your story
Author (birth year - death year)
Translator if applicable (birth year - death year)
Source from which you read (e.g. Gutenberg etext url)
Length in mm:ss
If it is your first submission, how you would like to appear in the catalog. - please post it in this thread.

I’m not sure there’s a precedent for religious texts in the short story collection... but I can’t think where would be more appropriate, so we’ll be fine. Please don’t take this as authorization for a flood of such pieces though